Arizona Cardinals hone techniques

Nobody had a better time at the party Sunday than the Cardinals, so they tackled cleanup duty on Monday with smiles.

A 4-0 overall record and a fresh overtime victory over the Dolphins made it bearable to look at all the mistakes they made.

Now, they face the task of addressing their shortcomings before Thursday night's game against the Rams in St.Louis.

"The challenge for us is working on things we need to improve on," coach Ken Whisenhunt said, "cleaning up some of our technique errors, cleaning up some of our detail things, as well as making sure we give our players enough rest.

"It's a fine line between doing enough to get prepared and also making sure you give them enough rest because the game will be on us fast."

The Cardinals practiced for an hour or so on Monday with a longer, normal workout scheduled for Tuesday. Whisenhunt didn't provide an update on injuries, but it's possible the Cardinals could get three key players back for the Rams game. Tight end Todd Heap (knee) and defensive end Darnell Dockett (hamstring), both starters, missed the Dolphins game, as did reserve running back LaRod Stephens-Howling (hip flexor).

Whisenhunt said he would have to see those players go through a full practice before knowing anything about their availability. That's not likely to happen until Tuesday at the earliest.

Lineup change

Cornerback Greg Toler replaced William Gay in the base defense in the second half Sunday and could start against the Rams.

"We'll see how it goes," Whisenhunt said. "I'm sure that one of the things that we said over the last couple weeks is having depth at that position has been a big benefit for us this year, and we've got a number of guys that we can rotate in and out and keep them fresh."

Gay remained in the game during nickel situations. Rookie Jamell Fleming wasn't used as much (12 defensive plays) as in previous weeks.

Standing Pat

Until Sunday, Patrick Peterson had a reputation for rarely dropping a punt. Earlier this year, he dropped one in practice and caught the next one one-handed, just to prove what a fluke it was.

But against the Dolphins, Peterson muffed two punts and fumbled a third time. The Cardinals didn't lose the ball on those occasions, and Whisenhunt is confident Peterson will quickly get over his worst day as an NFL returner.

"I think Patrick may be pressing a little too much in that area," Whisenhunt said. "We talked about it after the game. I think that with the type of player that Patrick is, that's something that he'll get worked out."

Opponents have contained Peterson this year by pinning him to a sideline. Peterson's longest return this year is 17 yards and he's averaging 7.9 yards on 14 returns. Last year, he returned four punts for touchdowns and averaged 15.9 yards.